Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of fiber optics, and in particular to an improved optical fiber with low loss and a nanoscale structurally homogeneous core.
Background Art
Due to the rapid spread of Internet services, the demand is increasing exponentially for low-loss optical fibers that are capable of transmitting large amounts of data over long distances.
Core homogeneity has a significant impact on optical transmission performance. Current production fibers have cores that are doped with germanium (Ge) and typically have an attenuation that is above 0.18 dB/km. Such high attenuation is due to scattering from Ge-dopant as well as nanoscale crystalline defects. While fibers with a Ge-free core can remove one source of attenuation, it is important to reduce the nanoscale crystalline defect concentration in the fiber core to further reduce attenuation to below 0.18 dB/km.
It is possible to reduce the concentration of nanoscale crystalline defects by lowering the speed at which the fiber is drawn. However, the use of a lower draw speed increases the amount of time required to fabricate a fiber, resulting in increased manufacturing costs.